Baby Steps
by snickerdoodle131515
Summary: Harry is learning to walk-- how much more trouble will this allow him to cause? A very cute fic!


~*~Baby Steps~*~  
  
By snickerdoodle131515  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters used in this story. J.K. Rowling created the Harry Potter series. Summary: Baby Harry is learning to walk—and causing more mischief that ever. Rating: G Characters: Harry, Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. `*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
It was a beautiful April morning, and the Potter's home in Godric's Hollow was glowing in sunlight. The flower gardens that Lily Potter worked so hard on were in a beautiful, colorful bloom. There were blossoms on the cherry trees, and everything was peaceful. Almost.  
Inside the home, Lily was tearing apart the house searching for a pair of clothes for Harry that didn't have food spills and stains from everything he got into. James was struggling; attempting to spoon-feed his ten -month old son Harry.  
"Here comes the Snitch, Harry. Open wide--"  
Harry made a giggling noise though tight lips. He shook his head and his emerald green eyes danced mischievously as he shook his head at the spoon of applesauce soaring towards his mouth.  
James paused and held the spoon in midair. He quickly reached down and tickled Harry's ribs with his free hand. Harry fought laughter for a few seconds before opening his mouth wide and screaming with laughter. James quickly dipped the spoon into Harry's mouth.  
Grinning with his success, James turned his back on Harry to spoon out more applesauce from the bowl. He felt something splatter on the back of his head, and whipped around to see Harry grinning, applesauce dribbling down his chin. James sighed, grabbed a rag from the kitchen counter, and wiped the worst of the mess from his hair. Harry spit again, and the mess hit James in the face. He slowly removed his glasses and wiped them counterclockwise on a handful of his robes. Harry bubbled with laughter.  
James was slightly amused. He pushed the almost untouched bowl towards Harry and said, "You can feed yourself, if you're so clever."  
He regretted this decision almost immediately. Harry scooped out a handful, and chucked it at the wall, laughing insanely.  
"Yes, very funny, Harry." Muttered James. "Any chance of getting any in your mouth?"  
Harry giggled, and stuck his face down flat in the bowl. He emerged again, his face plastered with the gooey mess. James sighed, stifling a laugh at how ridiculous Harry looked; though he was probably a sight himself.  
"Lil, come here! You've got to see Harry!" he shouted.  
Lily rushed in, looking flustered. Her red hair was a mess and her arms were laden with dirty laundry. She laughed weakly at the sight of her husband and son. "Now, how did this happen?"  
"I let him feed himself." James answered simply.  
Lily shook her head. "Go clean up, you two. Remember, we're having Sirius, Remus, and Peter over to have dinner with us tonight, but we may have to cancel with the way the house looks."  
James only now realized what a disaster the home was. It looked like Hurricane Harry happened. There was food splattered on the windows and walls, there were bowls everywhere, a potted plant was tipped over, and toys and clothes were strewn across the ground. "Oh, they won't mind." Said James, waving a dismal hand. "Our dormitory at school was a hundred times worse than this—Sirius left his---"  
Lily put up a hand to stop his talking. "I probably don't want to hear this. Now go clean up, you two."  
James watched her leave, and felt something hit him in the side of the head. He could only guess who that was. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
James turned the tap in the bathtub, and felt the temperature of water with his hand. It was ice cold. Too impatient to wait for the water to warm up, he cast a heating charm on the pool of water forming in the tub. As the water rose, James added toys to it—rubber ducks, toy boats, plastic building blocks, and something that Harry thought was the best thing in the world- bubble bath mix. "What is the purpose of a rubber duck, Harry?" he pondered aloud.  
Lily ran around, chasing after her son who was crawling away, trying to escape the bathtub and wearing nothing but a diaper. Lily caught him around the middle, and heaved him over her shoulder. James was now currently taking a shower in the bathroom in the master bedroom.  
A few minutes later, Harry sat happily in the pink bubble foam, splashing water out of the tub. He was sucking on the rubber duckie's head, as Harry was also teething. Sirius loved Harry's smile, a few teeth here and there, but mostly big open gaps.  
Harry was making raspberries with his tongue, as he made the boat zoom across the surface of the water. "Rrrrroooom!"  
Lily wiped Harry's face with a rag, much to his protests. Now for the hardest part. Lily filled a cup full of the water in the tub and tilted Harry's head back, and poured the water over his head. Harry gasped, and let out small sobs. His hair unruly black hair that he had inherited from James hung sloppily over his eyes. Lily pushed the hair away, and rubbed soft, sweet smelling baby shampoo in Harry's hair. She then rinsed his dark hair again, and dried Harry off with a large towel. Draining the tub, she dressed Harry with the only clean clothes she could find—Muggle clothes her mother had given her, a white T-shirt and a pair of overalls.  
James glanced at the clothes with distaste, Lily knew that James thought it was an odd style.  
There was a knock on the door. Harry perked up, crawling quickly towards it. Lily hurriedly waved her wand through the room, and the toys flew to their proper places—making the room a good deal cleaner. James answered the door, and Sirius, Remus and Peter burst in.  
"Evening, Prongs." Said Sirius cheerfully. He picked up a cooing Harry, tossed him into the air, and caught him again. Harry screamed with delight. "How's my favorite godson today?"  
"What smells so good?" Peter wondered aloud. He was always eager to have food.  
"It's just ham and mashed potatoes," said Lily pleasantly.  
"Did you cook it rare for Moony?" joked Sirius.  
They all laughed. Remus swatted Sirius round the head. "Very funny."  
The six of them situated themselves around the dinner table. Harry sat in his highchair, kicking impatiently, looking around at everybody.  
"So, what kind of trouble did young Harry get into today?" asked Remus in interest.  
"Well," said James, wondering where to begin. "He insisted on playing with every toy he owned at once, there was an applesauce war, he flooded the bathroom, covered his face with shaving cream--"  
Sirius, Remus, and Peter chuckled. "Shame on you, James. Harry's too young to be shaving!" Remus had said. Lily served a delicious ham; James marveled at how she ever found the time to put it in the oven today. They spent most of dinner discussing the latest Quidditch game they had all listened to on the Wizarding Wireless Network, or WWN. Sirius informed them that his cousin Andromeda had got tickets for herself, husband Ted, and young daughter Nymphedora to go to the Weird Sister's concert, and they were all invited since there were extra tickets. Remus excitedly told the table that he had applied for a job at Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley. This was great news to everybody—Remus had great difficulty finding any paid work because he was a werewolf and very mistrusted by Wizardkind. Many people lived in fear of werewolves, and everybody had shunned Remus almost his whole life. But James, Sirius, Peter and Lily had taken the time to get to know him; Remus was one of the kindest, warmhearted, honest, and trustworthy person that any of them had ever met.  
Later that night, the friends sat around the coffee table, talking while sipping tea. Harry was pulling himself up on the edge of table, wobbling as he stood in place. Then, they all stared as Harry let go of the table and took one step forward. Lily clapped her hands in delight as took his first step. James quickly kneeled on the ground, and held out his arms. Harry stepped forward, stumbled a bit, and walked to James' arms.  
James was grinning widely. "Now if only I could get him to say ' Daddy!'"  
"James," said Harry. Sirius, Remus, and Lily laughed. "James," Harry said again.  
James laughed disbelieving, and shook his head. "No, Harry. It's Daddy."  
"James, "said Harry again. "James, James, James--"  
James heaved a great sigh. "Call me Daddy!"  
"James," said Harry, with his almost toothless grin.  
"Harry, say Mommy." Cooed Lily.  
"Mommy." Said Harry simply. James frowned. Why couldn't Harry say Daddy?  
Sirius too kneeled down. Harry took a few unsteady steps and tumbled into his arms. Harry was soon walking every which way, until he really seemed to be getting the hang of it. He walked to Lily and Remus without stumbling.  
Flushed with success, Harry became very tired, and slumped over in Lily's arms, fast asleep. "He's had a long day." Said Lily softly. Harry's eyes flickered open and then back shut. They all sat in silence for a few minutes.  
"I'll put Harry in bed," said James in a hushed voice, lifting his son up over his shoulder.  
"Goodnight, Harry." Whispered Remus as James passed.  
"I wonder what sort of trouble he'll cause now that he can sleep walk." Said Sirius.  
"I shudder to think," said Lily, as she gave real an involuntary shudder.  
James quietly opened Harry's bedroom door. He pulled back the covers in Harry's crib, and gently laid him down. He pushed back Harry's bangs, and kissed him on the forehead. "I love you, Harry."  
James paused I the doorway, looking back at Harry, before closing the door.  
Harry rolled over in his crib, and his eyes opened. He said softly, " I love you, Daddy." The End. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * AN/ I just love this story, don't you? So cute. If this sounds familiar to anybody, it should. Free Snickerdoodle cookie to whoever can figure it out! Thanks for reading. Please review! ^_^* 


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